Smoked Roast Beef with Eye of Round Roast

Round steak or eye of round roast doesn’t get a ton of attention from most people. It’s a lean cut of meat and it can lack flavor and be tough—if not prepared correctly. That said, it’s perfect for smoked roast beef!

When done right, this inexpensive cut of meat can make a whole bunch of people really happy. For this smoked roast beef we’re going to impart flavor into this meat in two different ways.

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First, we’ll be making an incredible herb paste to cover this smoked roast beef. In some cases using dried herbs works well, in this case I highly recommend fresh herbs. The herbs just by themselves smell and taste amazing, but we’re not stopping there.

We’re putting this eye of round roast on the grill to get some great smoke flavor into it. When working with a lean cut of meat like the eye of round, it’s important to impart flavor in layers.

Once smoked, we’ll top off this smoked roast beef off by serving it with homemade horseradish sauce. I promise this sauce will make an old work boot taste like fine dining.

When you think about roast beef, you probably think about prime rib roast. That’s what traditional roast beef is made from. Now, I’m not going to blow smoke (pun intended) and tell you smoked eye of round roast is as good as prime rib. That just wouldn’t be true. But I will tell you it’s really darn good when done right, and it’s a fraction of the cost of prime rib.

What Is Eye of Round Roast?

The eye of round roast is a “value cut” of meat that comes from a steer’s back hip. It’s a working muscle, so it’s very lean and lacks the intramuscular fat you see in more expensive cuts of beef.

It sort of looks like the beef tenderloin in appearance, but it’s not nearly as tender. That said, it’s flavorful if you put a little love into how you prepare it, and it’s definitely budget friendly.

Is Eye of Round Steak Good for Grilling?

Yes and no. I know that’s not helpful. Here’s the deal: this is a great cut of meat to be used for beef stew, stir fry, etc. where it’s cut into small chunks. That said, I don’t recommend grilling it like a traditional steak.

I’ve done it, and it’s not terrible, especially if you’re staying on a very lean diet. Just expect it to be a bit chewier and lack the flavor of a more marbled ribeye or strip steak. That said, when smoked and sliced thin, it’s really dang good.

What To Do With an Eye of Round Roast?

As I mentioned, it’s great stew meat for sure. Aside from that, it also grinds well. When mixed with some other more fatty meats it makes a great burger mix. My favorite though, is what we’re doing today, and that’s smoking it.

It goes well with my garlic mashed potatoes so definitely try that, but also strongly consider slicing it into deli style roast beef for sandwiches. That’s actually my favorite way to use this budget friendly cut, and it’s infinitely more tasty AND less expensive than buying roast beef at the deli counter. In the unlikely event of leftovers, you can use it to make amazing philly cheesesteak sliders.

Tips for Cooking an Eye of Round Roast

Use a thermometer: With so little intramuscular fat overcooking can happen quickly, so it’s super important to use a reliable leave-in meat thermometer when cooking this roast. Taking this cut much past medium rare is a recipe for disaster.

This cut needs to rest for a long time: There isn’t enough “juice” to waste by cutting into it too soon, so cover with foil and rest for at least 35 minutes before slicing it.

Trim the fat: These cuts often come with patches of fat on them, and normally I would leave this alone. But on this cut, the silverskin between the fat and the lean meat is very chewy, so trim as much of that off as possible.

This meat can handle the salt: You’ll notice I use a lot of salt in the herb paste; that’s because of how big this cut of meat is. Feel free to adjust that salt content, but don’t be afraid that it will be too salty if you don’t.

Smoked Roast Beef with Eye of Round Roast Recipe

Serves: 10 | Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 90 minutes

Ingredients
1 5 lb eye of round roast

For the Herb Paste:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp coarse salt, Diamond Crystal
2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

How To Smoke Roast Beef Using an Eye of Round Roast

Step 1: Light grill or smoker and set up for two-zone cooking. Establish temperature at 225°-235° F. You can also use a pellet grill for this if that’s what you prefer.

Step 2: While grill is preheating, trim any excess silverskin off of the eye of round roast. It should look like this once it’s all trimmed.

Step 3: Set the roast aside and mix all ingredients for the herb paste together.

Step 4: Generously coat the entire surface of the roast with the herb paste and insert a reliable leave-in thermometer into the thickest portion of the roast.

Step 5: Place beef on grill as far away from coal bed as possible and add your favorite chunk of smoking wood to the hot coals. I prefer hickory with this eye of round roast but use what you like.

Step 6: Close lid on grill and monitor temperature: when temperature reaches about 90° F internal, flip the meat 180 degrees, so both sides of the roast spend equal time towards the hot coals.

Step 7: When internal temperature reaches 125° F, remove roast from grill and cover with foil, let rest for 35-40 minutes.

Step 8: Slice roast and serve with garlic roasted mashed potatoes or grilled broccolini.

Smoked Roast Beef with Eye of Round Roast